With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith. Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities:

Reports to: Head of IT & Digital

JOB SUMMARY

The Digital Solutions Specialist is responsible to work closely with business units/department (Finance, Programmes, DMEAL, etc) to improve, digitalize and/or provide technical support on the automation/digitalization, implementation and administration of applications/systems, deployment, configuration, training and support of applications (In-house, Outsourced and Enterprise).

This role will serve as a bridge between the Programmatic team (DMEAL, operations, finance, etc). He/She will serve as a subject matter expert and provide technical advice for the design of digital solutions and/or business process improvement (analysis, design, coding, testing, development of documentation) and support for ongoing maintenance/customization of applications/systems based on defined business requirements.  Digital Solutions Specialist requires expertise in in-depth technical environments and business knowledge areas.

He/She must be able to adjust/incorporate to constant business changes and as needed to proactively plan for changes that are likely to occur and have implications of digital solutions such as process improvement, organization restructure, evolving goals and strategies and emerging technologies. Moreover, Digital Solutions Specialist also provides client support, consultation and subject matter expertise for system development, maintenance and support.

Digital Solutions Specialist works closely with business units/departments and team members to understand the business requirements that drive the analysis and design of quality technical/digital solutions. These solutions must be aligned with business and IT strategies and follow the organization’s architectural standards.

He/She will be involved in the full systems/applications life cycle and therefore are responsible for analyzing, designing, coding, testing, implementing and supporting application or digital solution that is delivered on time and within budget. Beyond development of digital solutions, he/she may participate in component and data architecture design, technology planning, product evaluation, advanced testing processes and buy vs. build recommendations through the leadership of the Head of IT and Digital.

Digital Solutions Specialist should have a strong knowledge of programming languages, experience in application design and have a solid understanding business analysis, database design, frameworks, testing, and integration methodologies.

Knowledge of current and emerging IT principles, practices, products, services and processes is required. He/she has to communicate World Vision’s Christian ethos and demonstrate a quality of spiritual life that is an example to others.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Maintenance/Upgrade/support

• Engage in and provide technical support to the different departments on the deployment and provision of customer support for all partnership/enterprise applications and automation/digitalizing solutions, implementation of information system such as; IMPAQ, Open Data kit for digital data collection, Last Mile Mobile Solution, Commcare, Solstice, M-Water, GiS among others.
• User Management Access-Administration (User Access De/Provisioning, Role defining, Users activity auditing, Log Review, Incident response) of in-house, outsourced, and enterprise applications
• Record all users’ requests through World Vision IT service management system(S-MAX), email, phone, MS Teams, and regular visits; analyze & categorize support requests
• Provide ongoing maintenance/customization on existing applications and information systems.
• Reviews and analyses result of various sessions where patterns of development and break/fix metrics, and standard process for optimizing application development processes.
• Periodically conduct system data audit to identify data quality issues for improvement.

ICT Project Activities

• Take part in all project initiation planning processes.
• Execute projects assigned as per the project plan, reviews work plan timelines and manages workflows to meet project timeframes.
• Participates in strategic planning meetings and provides technical guidance and expertise on system/application options, risk, cost vs. benefits, and impacts on business processes and goals.
• Works closely with GTD and departmental teams such as Programs, Finance, DMEAL, Supply chain to assure all systems/applications are implemented successfully.
• Follow full application development process/cycle for new projects from project inception/initiation to go-live/closure by documenting, in-code documentation etc as per industry software development standard practice.

Analysis and Design

• Engage in analyzing the current functional systems/applications (in-house, outsourced and partnership/enterprise) for integration and conduct integration to enhance efficiency and accuracy; and take part in improving the application architecture of the organization.
• Facilitate business requirements analysis sessions by brainstorming and documenting with the business units/stakeholders
• Negotiate to solve problem by researching and uncovering the root cause of the situation/business problem
• Assess user requirements, identify/develop or recommend appropriate digital solutions by analyzing current technology trends in light of fit for purpose, timeliness, cost and security.
• Identifies technical requirements by analyzing existing technological platforms and considering existing business and technology architecture
• Creates technical design specifications with respect to Application Architecture, Deployment Scenarios, Non-Functional Requirements, and Security Requirements
• Prepare requirements and technical specifications that best fit for required business applications
• Evaluates new application packages and frameworks and tools and performs research on best practices.

Coding, Testing and Deployment

• Codes applications or organization-wide digital solutions using a disciplined development process and in accord with the company’s standard development process (SDLC).
• Integrates solutions with other applications and platforms outside the framework.
• Identify, validate, and qualify in-house developed applications and services meet minimum standards for WV Uganda applications/systems through the use of programming disciplines necessary to achieve validation at the code level (Verification that data requirements, workflow, logical designs, operating environment, interfaces, etc).
• Engage with business units and external developers in business need/requirement analysis and application acceptance test such as Functional test, security test/auditability, scalability, performance etc as per SDLC standard for outsourced projects based on agreed Requirements/ToRs and Contracts
• Conduct UATs (User Acceptance Testing) for new/upgrade applications
• Plans and schedules the deployment of new modules, upgrades and fixes to the production environment.
• Verifies that modules are production ready.

Data visualization and dashboard development.

• Lead the development and consolidation of a web-based results management systems that produces reports, displays dashboards in line with WV Strategic focus and enable effective decision making.
• Develop a data pipeline to automate reports, link and adjust data visualization products, digitalize data collection tools for arising from the different departments.
• Engage stakeholders to understand reporting needs and business objective
• Integrate and understand KPIs, metrics, and data sources to pool this data from and Integrate multiple datasets for unified reporting
• Document report specifications and data definitions
• Connect to various data sources (e.g., databases, APIs, spreadsheets, cloud apps)
• Perform data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL)
• Manage data cleaning and preparation process
• Design intuitive dashboards
• Ensure design principles: clarity, simplicity, and usability
• Build interactive, real-time dashboards and reports
• Correlate metrics to business outcomes
• Validate reports with stakeholders to ensure accuracy and relevance
• Conduct user acceptance testing (UAT)
• Document dashboard/report logic and data source mappings
• Create user guides or training materials for end-users
• Conduct training or walkthrough sessions for staff
• Monitor dashboard performance and resolve technical issues
• Update reports based on changing requirements or new data sources
• Track usage metrics to evaluate impact and optimize visuals
• Set up role-based access to reports and dashboards
• Ensure data privacy and compliance
• Manage report version control and audit trails

Product Documentation

• Develop and/or update existing business application(s) by ensuring appropriate documentation of business processes, functional/technical and user guides (includes the ability to present the information both visually (ie. Use Case, Class, Sequence and other UML Diagrams), and through descriptive narratives. Develop Test plans, Test scripts, Test cases, Security tests, UATs

Capacity Building

• Develop training materials, presentations for new and upgrades applications to equip users with required skills
• Take part in coordination of trainings and prepare schedules
• Deliver trainings or ToTs on applications in collaboration with the Unit and other GTD team (refreshment and new trainings)
• Evaluate trainings provided and document lessons learnt for improvement
• Promotes effective use of digital solution by educating users on system functionality.

Other Related Activities

• Perform other assignments given by line and/or matrix management as the roles has shared services provided by the other GTD units and teams
• Assist the Digital Solutions Unit Lead in regular and ad-hoc reports, and other queries

KNOWLEDGE/QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE ROLE

Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification

• BSC in Computer Science or a related field.
•  Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) or related, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) or Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) – Microsoft SQL Server
• Project management trainings (PMP, PRINCE 2, etc) and any management trainings/course are a plus
• Training on Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP)

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications

• MSc Information Systems
• Certification on Project management trainings (PMP, PRINCE 2, etc)
• Certification on ITIL, Mobile Apps programming, applications security, etc
• Certification/Training on Cloud Computing
• Certification/Training on Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
• Certification/Training on Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP)

Required Professional Experience

• Experience :5-7 years of application development. Net programming languages, third party tools & frameworks, business & technical analysis and design (including User Experience), data analytics/business intelligence, business architecture, application architecture, data architecture, technology architecture experiences including management of large projects.
• Experience in designing, developing and testing applications using proven or emerging technologies Expertise in data management and analytics -Knowledge in productivity, data collection, processing and visualization tools (Power Platform: Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Mobile Data Collection (MDC) tools: KoboToolBox, Open Data Kit (ODK) …).
• Good Knowledge of IT Technologies: Windows Platform, development platforms, databases and data management Data integreation-thorough understanding APIs, data standards (JSON, XML), and system interoperability.
• Worked in similar sized organization like WV Uganda with well-organized and advanced IT environment that use various digital solutions/applications.
• Broad level of understanding surrounding information systems and applications architecture standards Practical project management experience that includes project planning, change management, etc
• Must be able to communicate complex technical details in a clear and concise manner to both technical and non-technical staff.
• Excellent communications skills; the ability to listen and then clearly describe the problem and proposed solution.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English Fast thinker and able to make rational decisions even under pressure
• In depth knowledge in business acumen and processes Collaborative skills across business and technical teams
• Skills on trend analysis and predictions Proficiency in the recent Microsoft Windows Collaboration tools MS-Teams, One Drive, Share Point, office 365, Outlook.
• Fast learner and always a step ahead in terms of IT application initiatives Team Player Must be committed to World Vision Core Values
• Exhibit professional ethics in handling confidential information, uses IT systems, security and resources as per the policies and requirements of World Vision Uganda/International
• Strong client service skills and the ability to work under pressure with accuracy and professionalism.
• Good Knowledge of IT Technologies: Windows Platform, development platforms, databases and data management